Getting a new electricity connection or transferring one is set to become a much faster process as the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) is planning to simplify the same.
Consumers will not have to stand in line or meet several officials to ensure that their requests are processed. Taking a cue from other government departments, such as Transport and Passport Seva Kendras, the electricity supply utility is also planning an online application-based process where the consumer will have to approach the Bescom office only one time, with a prior appointment, for verification of documents and fee payment.
30 days
This will significantly cut down the time taken for processing these documents, officials say. Currently, the time specified for a new connection by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) is 30 days in urban areas. According to sources, this could be cut down to as little as 6 days with the new system.
“We are setting up a system where the customer can apply for services online. They will be given a time and date to visit the service centre. They have to carry their original documents for verification and pay the fee. They will then be given a time frame for the completion of the service request. We wanted to do away with the process of the consumer having to visit several offices or the same office twice,” said P. Rajendra Cholan, Managing Director, Bescom.
While Bescom has been taking service requests online for some time, this has not resulted in the consumer not having to visit the local office. “We are planning to start single-window-type customer service centres in a few sub-divisions where customers with load between 1 to 5 kW (75% of non-commercial consumers) will have to visit only once for their request. All back end work will then be handled by Bescom,” another official said.
